Electoral Systems Cannot Function Well Without Quality Election Administrators, Says Constitutional Law Expert Refly Harun

JAKARTA — Constitutional law expert Refly Harun has stated that even a well-designed electoral system will not function properly without quality election administrators.

“This electoral system, whilst it has excellent regulatory instruments, will not work well if the election administrators are incompetent,” Refly said during a presentation.

Refly made these remarks during a meeting with DPR Commission II to discuss election administration held at the Parliamentary Complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, 10 March 2026.

He noted that Indonesia’s election recruitment process frequently encounters problems. “Starting from issues concerning independent selection committees through to selection by the DPR,” he said.

According to Refly, an election administrator must possess integrity, professionalism and neutrality, as they should not favour any particular faction.

Refly suggested that candidates possessing these three qualities are often sidelined. When he himself participated in the selection process for a Bawaslu (Election Supervisory Body) member, the selection panel rated him as highly recommended. However, during the fit and proper test conducted by the DPR, Refly was not selected.

“Alhamdulillah, I was not selected by the DPR. Because they asked, ‘Are you NU?’, ‘Are you Muhammadiyah?’, ‘Are you PMI?’ Not all of these. I am simply Refly Harun, a citizen of the Republic of Indonesia who is Muslim. That’s it. I didn’t succeed,” he said.

He further stated: “Look for instance at our election administrators — they face problems every year, every period. Some engage in corruption, some breach ethics, and the current situation is the most severe. There are issues concerning women and various other matters. Why don’t we learn from these problems?” Refly added.